TBAY: Canon College: Comfort-Hurt and Crouch's Redemption

[lucky_kari]

No: HPFGUIDX 44258

Professor Eileen Lucky-Kari looks a little aimlessly about the campus 
of Canon College. After those crushing final exams she administered, 
and that unfortunate... experience with Professor George, she felt 
that she deserved a vacation. But in the back of her mind two words 
have been appearing again and again: "Comfort hurt, comfort 
hurt,comfort hurt..." Each time she remembers these words, she has an 
urge to go and face down Captain Cindy.

But fear strikes at her heart. Captain Cindy is an Imperius expert, 
said to have learnt the trade from the great Mulciber himself. 
Whenever Eileen confronts Cindy, she ends up walking dreamily out of 
the office, a vacant but happy expression on her face. Still, what 
else is there to do but try?

Cindy is working as an intern in Florence Theories, is she not?

Sure enough, Eileen finds Cindy organizing chairs in her lab.

"Hello, Professor!" says Cindy, smiling broadly. "I loved your class: 
Death Eaters and Aurors 101. I learnt so much. Honestly, I never 
thought we were going to be discussing Alexandr Solzhenitsyn more 
than Crouch Sr. Though Solzhenitsyn was so interesting," she finishes 
lamely.

"Why all the chairs?" asks Eileen.

"I'm having a group of new HP fans in here any minute," says 
Cindy. "Field trip."

"Are you sure you won't shatter their innocent young minds with some 
of those Florence theories?"

"Oh, no," says Cindy. "We're sticking with some of the safer and 
sweeter theories. No "Peter Doesn't Get the Girl" or Florence 
trapazoids. Just good old Florence was Sirius's sister who was 
kissing Snape, or even better, Bertha Jorkins made the whole thing 
up. Later, they can learn more about the whole depraved field."

"Talking of depraved...."

"You're always talking of depraved," says Cindy sternly. "You aren't 
hear to discuss the comfort-hurt theory, are you?"

"No, I am not! I demand an apology for that. How dare you insinuate 
that I liked to be hurt and power was the ultimate aphrodisiac?"

"I wasn't too far off the mark though, was I? Look what you said to 
Elkins in that restaurant: 

---------------
"I have dreams sometimes," sighed the Professor. "Dreams about 
trembling in the dock, with Bartemius Crouch presiding over my 
tribunal--"
---------------

"Did I say that?" asks Eileen.

"Elkins seems to indicate so," said Cindy, crossing her arms.

"And since when did we trust Elkins?"

"She's always spot on about you," said Cindy. "Like when she said you 
tortured your dolls, and she was right, remember?"

"O.K. Fine! So I did have a dream where I was being sent to Azkaban 
by Barty Crouch for using the Cruciatus curse! Not very strange, 
considering the sort of conversations we have on this list. Anyway, I 
came to talk about Crouch's redemption."

"Crouch's alleged redemption."

"Crouch's redemption, darnit! Cindy, your arguments were... well.... 
not that good. I have no idea why I gave you an A."

"Personal charisma?" asks Cindy. "It's too late now to change the 
mark, by the way."

"Yes. I know. But look here. Look at what you said."

>> "Oh, that's no problem at all," Cindy says.  "See, there's *no 
way* 
> Crouch is seeking redemption there.  I mean, the whole redemption 
> theory rests on the premise that Crouch was trying to undo the 
> wrongs he committed by springing his son from Azkaban, right?  
> Crouch by this point *knew* that Harry was in a lot of danger.  He 
> mentions Voldemort and Harry.  He knew the whole plan to restore 
> Voldemort.  Yet Crouch *insists* on speaking to Dumbledore.

"Cindy, didn't you forget that the text explicitly states that Crouch 
does not recognize Harry?"

Cindy gulps.

"Not only that, but he shows a fear that Harry is one of Voldemort's 
servants. He asks Harry if he is Dumbledore's, to which Harry 
assents, but I think that conclusively proves he had no idea who 
Harry was."

"I..."

"Concede. The. Point." says Eileen in her best Elkins tone.

"I'll think about it," says Cindy shortly.

"Anyway, I don't understand why you wanted Crouch blabbing everything 
to Harry either," continues Eileen. "I suppose you'd also have wanted 
Snape to go to James Potter instead of Dumbledore? Even if Crouch had 
been sane and recognized Harry, he would have been right to follow 
Harry into the castle and talk to Dumbledore. Dumbledore's been 
running everything on the principle that Harry doesn't need to know 
that much of what's going on. Crouch knows that. Everyone knows that. 
It bugs us readers to death, but that's how the Potterverse works. 
For some reason, the big strategic information is not for Harry's 
ears."

"Be that as it may," says Cindy. "You haven't adressed my main point."
>Crouch hopes to 
> pull a *Snape!*  

Eileen begins to laugh. "That's your main point? That Crouch hoped to 
pull a *Snape?* Well, of course he did. Are you now saying that Snape 
wasn't redeemed?"

Cindy looks hurt. "No, it's not the same. Snape went to Dumbledore 
because... wait didn't I once propose that Snape wasn't redeemed?"

"Yes, wasn't that what all those "Mercy" and "Prince of Lies" 
theories were about? Though, I'm not sure," says Eileen. "They were 
confusing. Give me George any day."

"Anyway, for the moment, let's assume the Georgian model. Snape went 
to Dumbledore not because he was afraid of Voldemort but because he 
realized that what Voldemort was doing was plain wrong. You're 
attempting to compare this to Barty Crouch, trying to stop Voldemort 
from "going all tasmanian devil on him!" cries Cindy.

"No, I'm not really. Snape's redemption and Crouch's redemption are 
two different things. But I'm saying you are right in this:
>"Crouch is hurting.  He has only one thing in his mind –- 
> survival, a safe haven.  And the only thing he links to that is 
> Dumbledore.  Remember, Crouch was right there in the Pensieve scene 
> when Dumbledore revealed that Snape was a spy.  So naturally, 
Crouch 
> thinks of Dumbledore as someone who can protect him -- the way he 
> protected Snape.  Crouch's turning to Dumbledore is instinctive, 
> really.  The *survival* instinct -- the very strongest instinct of 
> them all."

"So, you admit I'm right?" asks Cindy increduously.

"Absolutely," says Eileen. "And I'm not sure how you find this 
incompatible with the fact that he seems heartbroken over what he has 
done. I mean, in your world, of course, Crouch should have just 
sucked it all up, written a note to Dumbledore explaining what he 
did, and committed ritual suicide, but as a sycophant, I'd like to 
point out the tempting aspects of survival..."

"Not very high-minded," snorts Cindy.

"No, not high-minded at all. Like Snape, avoiding a liftime in 
Azkaban. If he really was redeemed, shouldn't he have felt obligated 
to go and join his Death Eater associates there? Surely, you're not 
one of those readers who believe Snape never did anything really 
terrible? Put it this way. I don't believe Crouch has to be resigned 
to being murdered by Voldemort to be considered redeemed."

Cindy opens her mouth. Then closes it again. 

"And then, there was the humpty-dumptied Big Bang assessment you did:

>look what 
> happens if we do a Bang assessment.  What's Bangier?  Crouch as 
> whining, groveling confessor or Crouch as scheming, desperate 
> extortionist?  Give me 'Crouch Cuts A Deal' any day."

"How, Cindy is that bangy? Have you forgotten what Big Bang means? 
Let me refresh your memory." Eileen whips out a copy of the 
Hypothetic Alley map. 
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/files/Admin%
20Files/hypotheticalley.htm

"I solemly swear that I am about to theorize!" she says, tapping the 
map with her wand.

"Hey!" cries Cindy. "I helped write that map."

"I know. I'm going to be quoting you, actually. Let's look up Big 
Bang, shall we?"

-------------------

The "Big Bang" theory is an all-encompassing approach to canon 
theorizing based on the notion that JKR herself prefers to use highly 
dramatic, cinematic, or even melodramatic events to serve as 
catalytic turning points in her characters' lives. 

-------------------

"Ahem," says Eileen. "I think my point should be clear, but let's 
take a look at the famous movie-scene analogy."

"Forget the movie-scene analogy," says Cindy savagely.

-------------------

"Indeed, Big Bangers have a rather rigid bright line test to assist 
us in determining which theories are acceptable. If we can't imagine 
a climactic, Oscar-worthy scene in which a character chooses a 
dramatically different path because of a Big Event, then the theory 
won't fly under Big Bang." 

--------------------

"I should think being Imperioed by EvilBaby!Voldemort, forced to help 
out with the plan to resurrect Voldemort, and finally escaping after 
being locked in the basement would qualify as a Big Event, wouldn't 
it? Enough to make Crouch choose a dramatically different path. To 
understand the error of his ways?" says Eileen, lazily regarding the 
Map.
                 
For an explanation of the acronyms and theories in this post, visit 
Hypothetic Alley at 
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/files/Admin20Files/hypothe
ticalley.htm 
 
and Inish Alley at 
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/database?
ethod=reportRows&tbl=13